Words & Images by Elmoon Iraola- I grew up in Northern Norway in a little town named Kirkenes, which is only a few minutes away from the Finnish border. Kirkenes is surrounded by a beautiful nature and flourishing wildlife. The… read more

Words & Images: David Hjortsberg- Elusive. She comes and goes as she pleases. Luring me into comfort and then ripping her beauty from under me when I least expect it. She lingers on too long and appears too suddenly, catching… read more

Words & Images Linus Bergman- In the deep north is a place. A place very different from others. This is a place where rock formations, hundreds of meters high, meet the sea. It’s a place where nature almost feels untouched.… read more

Words & Images Samuel Han- Travel has been a deeply engrained part of my life since I was born. My family and I moved around constantly, never really being able to settle down and put our roots somewhere. It was… read more

Images: Henrik Emtkjær Hansen & Words: Melanie Kettner- When we seek some peace, we normally leave the city heading towards the Wadden Sea. The family of my grandfather hails from the Northern Sea. Just a few weeks ago, for New… read more

Images: Davide Rostirolla/ Words: Davide Rostirolla & Melanie Kettner- Davide: Iceland is known as the “Island of the Ice and Fire”, where nature rules over man and sets the rhythm of life. There are 330,000 people living around the island, but… read more

Images: Gustav Willeit. Words: Gustav Willeit & Melanie Kettner- “For after all what is man in nature? A nothing in relation to infinity, all in relation to nothing, a central point between nothing and all and infinitely far from understanding either.… read more

Images & Text: Minna Rissanen- Because of my childhood experiences, a close connection to nature is an essential part of my identity. Hiking trips with my family, where I learned to embrace wilderness, launched me on a lifelong journey. I… read more

Images: Maegan Brown. Words: Maegan Brown & Melanie Kettner- Maegan: Through my research, Iceland looked so unfamiliar and the landscape so visually diverse, I was instantly captivated and knew I had to get there. My partner and I travelled around… read more

Images & Words: Joakim Blomquist- Whenever I travel I bring my camera with me, at all times. Travelling is by far my biggest motivation and inspiration. The people you meet and the new environments you experience is for me the… read more

Images: Petros Koublis & Words: Melanie Kettner and Petros Koublis- Words: Melanie Kettner: Derek Jarman changed my world. I bought his book „Derek Jarman´s Garden“ in the 90s. Since then I carried it with me, can’t tell how often I read… read more

Images & Words: Olga Segura- I have always been very shy. I liked to be alone in my room drawing and imagining my stories. I loved listening to piano music while I wrote down all that passed through my mind… read more

Pictures: Morgane Erpicum & Words: Melanie Kettner- Iceland is a country full of ancient stories, fables, fay, and nordic spirits. It looks like an island of another and mysterious planet, the moon maybe or a region where some other beings… read more

Images: Silvia Perez Zarza & Words: Melanie Kettner- When dreaming we get in contact with the unconscious, trying to tell us what we cannot see or feel or understand when we are awake. When we are busy with our daily… read more

Words & Images Laura Lereveur- ‘The moment you doubt that you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it- clap if you believe!’ – Peter Pan It’s quite the confession. Summer has always been my favourite, the time… read more

Images: Matthew Tucker & Words: Melanie Kettner- I will never forget the moment I first saw whales on the South African coast. It takes your breath away und you have no words to describe the pure and wild joy about… read more

Words & Images: Camilla Jørvad- The warm quiet mornings have returned, and I can once again enjoy my morning tasks: morning training and walk with the puppy, feeding and letting out the chickens and weeding the veggie garden without having to… read more

Words & Images: Bernodus Oli Einarsson- I was only 15 years old when I had the first chance to work with whales at a company called Whales Hauganes, that was the point where I started feeling a deep connection to… read more

Images & Words: Fran Mart- Miles and miles have passed since I decided to move to the UK, and so many wonderful things have happened. I found the right path, the right guy to walk it with, and we’re making… read more

Words & Images Norbert von Niman- It is those days when you’re walking on a glacier, everything around you in full black and white except your friends yellow raincoat, wearing three layers and still getting cold. You are still waiting… read more

Words & Images Frederique Peckelsen- Not all summers are the same. Whilst most people use summers to lay in the sun and typically relax, for me summer is a time to explore and discover. I have the freedom to visit… read more

Images Ewan Thompson – Text Ewan Thompson & Melanie Kettner Ewan: There is nothing everyday about Namibia. The purpose of my trip to Southern Africa was primarily to visit the Okavango Delta in Botswana, but I was able to add… read more

Images Jon West & Words Melanie Kettner- Life challenges us all from time to time, some of us have to overcome harder defiances than others. In the end, changing perspective becomes the most important tool we can use to adjust… read more

Words & Images Josh Kempinaire- I’ve always been attracted by the North. I can’t really explain why, but I know that I like the cold, the snow, the soft light. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to got to… read more

Words & Images Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson- I get an undefinable feeling when seeing something utterly breathtaking for the first time. My mind is blown away, and there is no way of replicating this feeling by revisiting the exact same place… read more

Words & Images Matthew Leonard- Growing up in a city in England I visioned the sea in a different way to which I do now. Back then I saw it as a non-inviting, closed-up and dark place. It was somewhere… read more

Words & Images: Caleb Gaskins- I’ve realized that some of life’s sweetest and truest gifts are found in the routines and normalities of the day. It is in the sitting down (whether I want to or not) and getting to… read more

My conversation with photographer Franca Perra about a life near the sea: I live with the northern sea and Franca comes from the sea of the south. Franca says, if you want to “meet” someone in the digital world, you have… read more

This week nordic summer inspiration with Davies Zambotti and her postcard from Norway. This beautiful series displays so well the nordic air with all its facets, the colour of the sea and the play between light and deep, chilly and… read more

Images: Morgane Erpicum Words: Melanie Kettner- To start an inspiring week we want to show you the delicate landscape photography of Morgane Erpicum. I love her soft tones and the message the images are holding. The light, soft, calm atmosphere… read more

This week on NORTHLETTERS: Award winning architectural and landscape photographer Kim Høltermand from Denmark, based in Copenhagen. I like the cool calmness in his iconic artworks, his nordic clearness in lines, forms and colours. Northern buildings and countries are the subjects… read more

Words & Images by Susann and Yannic from Krautkopf We never buy anything other than whole spices, and freshly grind them with a mortar and pestle, so that they only release their full taste during the preparation stage. The same applies… read more

For This weekend I want to share with you “The stuff of life” by Hilary Robertson, published by Ryland Peters & Small. The way persons display objects in their homes reveals a lot about themselves. It is a little bit… read more

A wonderful, inspiring and relaxed summer time dear followers! I will be back here 12th of August and drop over in between with some picture inspirations. Here already two of them: Summer feeling with Maia Flore. She is the photographer… read more

Summer holiday time comes nearer, therefore: A beautiful nordic summer inspiration with Photographer Charlotte Schmidt Olsen and Stylist Camilla Tange Peylecke about the nearly deserted Danish island ROMSØ on the coast of Funen with only 8 cottages on it, used as… read more

Mikkel Karstad’s beautiful new cookbook GONE FISHING by publishing house LINDHARDT & RINGHOF is much more than a simple cookbook, it shows another way of life: back to basics, near to nature and our instincts in behalf of eating and… read more

Young talented artist Anni Leppälä from Helsinki is currently living and working on a small island just outside the south coast of Helsinki. Her work has been exhibited since 2006 and right at the moment she prepares an exhibition in… read more

One of my inspirations for 2016: A life in line with nature. Therefore my first post this year is about Oak- The Nordic Journal, one of my favorite magazines about slow living, nature and nordic design. I chosed some passages for… read more

Inspiration for Christmas with dear Maria Fynsk Norup, photographer, writer and web designer. She kindly wrote a guest post for Northletters about her life on a tiny danish island, where she moved to with her family to live a slower… read more

Love these calm morning moments, when the house is still sleepy, there is mist laying above the river and the sky is announcing a warm and soft sunlight. With my pyjamas, sweater and socks on I’m strolling through the rooms.… read more

This was a difficult week. In times like these we need some comfort and piece. So I wasn’t quiet sure, if I should write a blog post or not. But maybe to read this little story about Sweet Root can be… read more

Once we had a small cottage near the sea. What I loved most was the feeling of no man’s land, just the voices of the sea gull, the sound of the wind, a fire in the fireplace, no telephone, a… read more

“Cannot stop smiling since I tasted our own grown tomatoes for the first time this morning” Today I want to tell you the story of Sigitas and Agne and their garden. They are the owner of the restaurant Sweet Root in Lithuania,… read more

For the weekend I want to share the poetic work of artist, photographer and stylist Frieda Mellema from Rotterdam with you: Her images are fragile, feminine, childlike, always unpredictable, with a playful, surprising and fresh element. It was really hard… read more

Images: Thomas Kettner & Words: Melanie Kettner Dirk Luther is the chef de cuisine and director of the hotel Alter Meierhof at the Fjord of Meierwik, near the Denmark frontier. He received the best distinction from the famous restaurant guide… read more

„We want our public space to feel more human”- Ilse Crawford “A Frame for Life”, the inspiring book of Ilse Crawford, designer, creative director, academic and head of the design agency Studioilse in London, has the mission to put the human… read more

“Design amplifies and accentuates our lives by giving everyday habits a special context, spirit and warmth, which makes the ordinary extraordinary.”
Ilse Crawford, A Frame For Life